John Graham Gilbert / Public domain

Paul Graham

Lisp programming and venture capital

Developed influential software and systems in the Lisp programming language.
Founded Y Combinator, a startup incubator and venture capital firm.
Writes essays on technology, startups, and culture, published widely online.

Paul Graham is an English-American programmer, venture capitalist, and essayist. He is known for his work in Lisp programming and his influential role in the startup world through Y Combinator.

Milestones

Statistical Learning and Quiet Progress Engineering

The Essay That Turned AI Loose on Your Inbox

Paul Graham's 'A Plan for Spam' showed that a simple Bayesian classifier could catch junk email with stunning accuracy, bringing machine learning into the daily lives of millions.

2002